Westpac denies offshore job reports

Westpac Banking Corporation Ltd says it intends to increase “offshoring”, but denied media reports that it planned to shift up to 3,000 back-office jobs to India.

“I haven’t seen any piece of paper with that kind of number,” Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly told analysts on Thursday.

But Mrs Kelly said the bank would be keen to outsource functions if there was another business that could perform a function more efficiently.

“Will there be an increase in offshoring? Absolutely,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Finance Sector Union (FSU) wants the federal government to review all bank licensing arrangements to ensure back office jobs stay in Australia.

The union’s call follows a report that Westpac – which on Thursday announced a 34.2 per cent jump profit for the six months to March 31 to $2.202 billion – is expected to shift the work of up to 3,000 of its back-room staff to overseas locations such as India during the next three years.

The move was part of an accelerated plan to cut costs being put together for new Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly, Fairfax reported.

FSU secretary Leon Carter said the bank’s move would hollow out the Australian finance industry, leaving a nation of bank shopfronts.

“Back office workers are the backbone the Australian’s major banks performing hundreds of important task such as handling customers’ sensitive banking information,” Mr Carter said in a statement.

“Swiping out more than 3,000 of these jobs will mean that only the facade of an Australian bank would be left behind.”

Westpac was carving up its business and its local employees were being treated as “offcuts”.

“We know that working families are coming under fire by the banks with successive interest rate hikes, huge fees, and now they are going to take away thousands of Australian jobs,” Mr Carter said.

“Banks like Westpac owe their customers and their community much more than this.”

“What’s needed now is for the federal government to take this opportunity to rein in the banks and protect bank jobs from being sent offshore.

Mrs Kelly needed to reassure customers and workers that jobs would not be sent offshore, Mr Carter said.